The idea of cutting the cable is a good one to save money if your carrier will let you get away

. I looked at this option as a failsafe option also...like what If I lose my job? What would I do, and what would be cut?
I think if you are considering this option..you should get an OTA antenna and a streaming device..and I say ROKU. Once you have the antenna, see what channels you get for free and then decide how much the others channels are worth... which I call a " price point "for the TV carriers service.
If you have an old TV , you need a digital-to-analog converter box and most likely a small indoor uhf/vhf antenna. Each of these items can be had for under $50. I use a Zinwell converter and a TERK HDTVa I got from amazon for under $100 and I get 31 digital channels including unique programming that each of area carriers only have some of the channels ( not all). No recurring fees and I have extra additive entertainment whether I cut the cord or not. This is not junk, all religious or spanish channels either. I have many favorites that I watch regularly.
I bought the ROKU XD box on the Black friday sale at about $70 . I bought this mainly because I wanted the Drive-In Package at $3 a year, use this as a negotiating tool to reduce my TV bill and maybe check out Netflix if I lost my tv. Well that part worked..and DIRECTV did give me a deal to keep from leaving. I am still prepared to cut with them unless they continue to meet my price point ( the value their service is worth to me).
I joined Netflix ( 30 days for free) and still checking it out along with the other 20 million subscribers they have. Doesnt have everything I want streaming but I did find a lot. Rather than say its $8 a month and multiply by 12...you know you can suspend your membership? You can burn thru their catalog and then take off for a few months and then come back.
I have an offer with the ROKU purchase for a month free of HULU PLUS. I will be activating that soon. I dont expect it to work out based on the reviews I read but we will see. More free stuff from Roku

. Online HULU may work just fine.
Finally , you know there is BIGSTAR TV. Lots of other lesser known films and foreign deals too. They have a month free as well before going to $5 a month. Again , no long term contract and can cancel.
Now Roku added a bunch of channels at Christmas..like Pub-A-Dub so you have all the creature feature films Elvira shows. Rumors that Frightology is coming . Maybe Espn since its coming to XBOX? Would VUDU also show up?
Did I mention that Roku now has Amazon VOD and there are rumors that amazon wants to launch a competitor service to Netflix and maybe will have HBO streaming. Now which streamer will be first in line to get that service...bet on ROKU.
My answer...get the antenna and a roku..take the free ride..and then decide how much Tv really means to you. As my TV guy said to me after giving me another discount to keep me from cancelling...its nice to have options isnt it?